Ontario boasts over 80,000 km in trails. Whether you're in downtown Toronto or North of Superior, we have a trail for you.
The Ontario Trails Council is a registered charity, led by volunteers who promote the development, management, use and conservation of Ontario's trails.
You'll find everything from gentle walking trails to rock faces for climbing and water routes to canoe and kayak.

Mono-on-a-Bike tour set for SundayOrangeville CitizenThe plan for MOAB is to return a cycling
event that used to take place in Mono, under different names, but had
stopped operating in past years. “Mono I think boasts some of the nicest
cycling in all of Ontario,” Mr. Valiante said. In its recommendation ...

Make Sure to Check the Event Calendar

Located at the bottom of this page our event calendar shows weekely
adjustments to our course offerings. This week we have added another
date for Volunteer Management with Diana Smyth and adjusted out two
courses from this current week.

In addtion we have added the new Trail Design Course detailed below.
We have also taken calls from some folks wishing to take the Trails
Marketing Course in KIngston October 18, 2012. Those seats were block
purchased by RTO9, what we acould do is work with you to get another RTO
1-or 4- or 7? to purchase a block of seats so that folks can attend in
those areas. Sorry for any confusion this may cause. Thank you.

Be sure to use our array of press or other flyers to circulate to your
local papers or possible attendees. All available for use - call -
877-668-7245 or 519-941-8911, or 1-866-560-7783

Trail Building - October 3-4, 2012

The Ontario Trails Council and the Ontario Trails Education Program, in
conjunction with International Mountain Bicycling Association (ON) are
pleased to announce the decison to offer the highly recognized and
nationally respected IMBA Trailbuilding Program, as part of its Trail
Education Course offerings in Ontario. We are currently working to hold
our first course on October 3-4. Please save the date.

Daniel Scott from IMBA writes, "Students will come away with a firm
understanding of the fundamentals of trail design for both hard surface
and naturally surfaced trails of various user types. A working knowledge
of the design process from the planning phase to ground proofing trail
alignments will be both discussed and experienced with examples and a
field exercise which will include using field measurement equipment and
flagging a trail alignment for construction."

Program elements include:

IMBA will provide for a two day workshop educating on the following elements
• Sustainable Trail Design – Making sure it lasts using various techniques:
• 5 Elements of Sustainable Design - Micro trail design - the fundamentals for bench cut
• Bench cut Trail vs. Raised Tread Trail - when is each appropriate
• 13 Steps to Trail Planning - Macro trail design - how one trail fits within a larger system
• Art of Trail Design - User psychology and design theory in the natural landscape
• Trail Closure & Rehabilitation - Mitigating reroutes & closures through design & signage
• Advanced Design & Construction Techniques – Building in challenging locations:
• Wooden Structures - intro to various techniques and how to design for users types
• Rock Armouring - intro to various techniques and how to design for users types
• Technical Trail Features - Designing trail features specific to various user groups
• Turns - Climbing, In sloped & Switchback - which turns is appropriate for who & where?

"With over 10 years of experience in trails throughout North America,
Daniel Scott’s background in the world of trail design is extensive.
Daniel is graduate of the University of Guelph's School of Landscape
Architecture where he focused his studies on infrastructure for
alternative methods of transportation and outdoor recreational
landscapes. He also holds a certificate in Mountain Bike Operations from
Capilano University. When not teaching at Capilano University or Sir
Sandford Fleming College, Daniel spearheads the International Mountain
Bicycling Association Canada's consulting service, Trail Solutions.
Within this role, Daniel divides his time between providing major land
managers such as Parks Canada with staff training, designing trail
systems nationwide and advocating for mountain bicycling as a valuable
form of recreation.

UPCOMING COURSES

September 27, 2012
Planning and Budgetting

This course aims to
provide community trails organizations with the tools and skills
required to accurately estimate the capital costs of construction and
the ongoing operating costs for publicly‐accessible trails.Course Details: This
course would be delivered as a one day, 7 hour program. At the end of
the module, participants should have an understanding of the elements
that constitute a capital budget for trails construction as well as the
elements that constitute an ongoing operations budget for trails
operations. They should also understand the differences between the
various levels of trails that might be constructed and the types of
usage that each kind of trail can accommodate.Attendees should leave
the session with an understanding of how to accurately project both the
capital costs of constructing new trails and the ongoing operating costs
of maintaining them after they are completed.REGISTER

Bob McFarland, retired municipal Director of Parks and Recreation -­‐
Bob graduated from Ryerson’s Radio and Television Arts Program and the
University of Montreal’s Bachelor of Communication Arts program before
beginning a ten year career in television, film and theatre production.

In 1981 he joined his first municipality managing a community performing
arts centre. Bob’s career saw him employed by 5 different
municipalities in Alberta and Ontario before retirement in 2011. Bob
was on the board of the Ontario Parks Association several times holding
the roles of Vice-­‐President and Treasurer during that time.

September 29, 2012
Technology and Trails

This course will examine the current technologies available for trail
related planning and management purposes (cells phones, smart phones,
hand-­‐held GIS GPS units, and more).

The course will address such issues as what types of information need to
be collected, how best to capture and store the information, and how
different technologies interact. Time will also be spent in the field
learning how to use and apply data collected from hand-­‐held GIS-­‐GPS
units.

Rick brings many years of experience and formal education in the field
of GIS and GPS technology to the forefront for this course. He holds
his B.Sc (Env) from the University of Guelph, an M.Sc in Environmental
Biology from the U of G, and is a certified GIS Applications specialist
(Sir Sandford Fleming). Rick has been teaching GIS and GPS at the
University of Guelph for nine years. He is also a member of the Chatham
Kent Trail Council in Chatham Kent Ontario.

October 18, 2012
Trail Marketing and Promotion: For Residents of The Great Waterway Only Please

This course will provide participants with the tools to understand and execute the fundamentals of sound trail marketing.

This course is a one day, 7 hour training session that will impart
participants with an understanding of the principles of marketing and
promotion and how they can be applied directly to trails.

Topics that will be covered in this session include: general marketing
and promotional techniques, the basics of evaluating the market
readiness of a trail, the needs of a market ready trail, the value of
clustering trails, how to market a trail to one user vs another, how to
mobilize local tourism and economic development departments as well as
regional tourism organizations, how to establish a relationship with
operators, ideas for incorporating marketing and promotion into local
and regional tourism plans.

Chris has a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and has been marketing Bruce County as ‘Ontario‘s
Natural Retreat’ since 2000. An industry leader in experienced based
marketing, Chris has developed several successful campaigns that appeal
to the hearts of the outdoor touring enthusiast. Whether it is riding
his motorcycle on the twisty backroads of the Bruce or riding the
legendary Bruce County singletrack on his mountain bike,

November 28, 29, 2012
Trail Risk Management

Managing risk is probably one of the most important and frequently
discussed aspects of trail development. This course will provide
participants with a comprehensive understanding of the elements
associated with managing risk as it pertains to trail development and
operations. It will also provide participants with the tools required to
implement solid risk management program upon returning to their
communities.

This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the elements
associated with managing risks related to trail planning, development
and management.

Topics will include:
• Introduction and Overview, Developing a Risk Management Framework
• The Canadian and Ontario Legal Systems Negligence and Liability
• The Law and Trails, Insurance and the Transfer of Risk
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA)
• HIRA Application on the Trail
• On the Trail Again
• Risk Assessment Assignment to work on at home with guidance
from the instructor.

Matt Cruchet founded Direct Bearing Incorporated as a vehicle to help
organizations navigate risk. Matt’s strengths lie in operational
assessment where he uses his experience in the not-­‐for-­‐profit,
youth-­‐service, adventure travel, natural resources and emergency
planning industries to evaluate and manage risk. Matt is a recognized
outdoor risk management expert, consultant, author and speaker. Direct
Bearing Incorporated has
also worked with over 100 other organizations ranging from youth service
groups, camps, natural resource companies, adventure tourism.
________________________________________________________

Our theme, “Honouring Roots...Standing Tall...Branching Out!” reflects
our commitment to create a unique conference framework within which many
of COEO's original “elders” and long-time “sustainers” will be
personally invited to return to share in the celebration of:
a) how our organization was born and nurtured,
b) its current “best practices”, and
c) what it is already in the process of becoming!

The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario (COEO) is a non-profit,
volunteer-based organization that promotes safe and high quality outdoor
education experiences for people of all ages. It also acts as a
professional body for outdoor educators in the province of Ontario.
These aims are achieved through publishing Pathways: The Ontario Journal
of Outdoor Education as well as an electronic newsletter, running an
annual conference and regional workshops, maintaining this web site, and
working with kindred organizations as well as government agencies.

About Me

The Ontario Trails Council (OTC) - Conseil des Sentiers de l'Ontario – is a charity that promotes the development, preservation, management and use of recreational trails in Ontario.

OTC Successes

As a major stakeholder in the development of the Ontario Trails Strategy, the OTC was pleased to see 30 years of hard work represented in this first provincial policy statement for Ontario. We also acknowledge the development of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS) as the lead Ministry for trails in Ontario.

With over 220 economic development, tourism, planning, recreation, park and club organizations, municipalities, conservation areas as members, the OTC is the largest trail association of its type in Canada. We continue to reach out to new stakeholders and create new working groups at the regional level. It supports our goal of making a difference locally, while acting provincially. Membership